Avoiding a Cyber Security Disaster: 4 Strategies to Prevent a Data Breach In your Company

February 8, 2018

Cyber security is a critical concern for today’s modern businesses. Cyber-attacks and security breaches can derail an organization’s operations and even hinder its growth and this makes taking the necessary measures to prevent such breaches very important. Here are 4 strategies that will help you prevent a data breach in your company.

Employee training is very important.

This is the first step in keeping your data safe and preventing a breach. Without proper training, an employee can unintentionally cause a data breach and this may result in huge losses for your company as well as exposure of your confidential information to your competitors and data thieves. Ignorance is very costly in this era of constant cyber-attacks and as a company, you should make it your priority to constantly train your employees on data security. The training should entail how to identify and avoid malware, how to update software as well as how to safely use the internet.

Get the right IT support.

Training your employees is not enough to keep your data safe and prevent a cyber-attack in your company. You still need to invest in the right tech support that will help you secure your systems, software, and information. A seasoned IT firm, with years of experience in helping companies such as yours secure their data, will identify the security threats that your company faces and provide or recommend the right solutions to keep your business safe and secure.

Restrict Access.

An extremely important yet often ignored measure of preventing data breaches in an organization is access restriction. By restricting your network, hardware and software elements as well as access to your database, you automatically improve your security. You can do this by setting user-specific passwords that will keep of intruders and prevent unauthorized access to your vital systems and information. You should also install secure and compliant data software as opposed to open source ones that are prone to external attacks. It should be noted, however, that setting such permissions is a complex and time-consuming process and as such, you should only get an experienced IT firm to help you set them up. A failure to do so may result in your system shutting down and this may result in a lot of losses.

Access your system regularly.

Conducting a regular risk assessment is very important in keeping your systems safe and secure. It’s human nature to missing a few things when setting up your security system and it is only when you review your system afterward that you will be able to identify the security lapses and make the necessary adjustments. You may be tempted to have your in-house team of developers conduct the assessment so as to cut costs but the best thing to do would be to hire an external firm to conduct the assessment.

Data breaches can get quite costly and it is only with the right strategies that you will be able to keep your company safe. Use the above-mentioned tips to prevent a data breach in your firm and avoid a cyber-security disaster.